THE YORK AND AINSTY. 145 



season Collinson resigned the horn, and was succeeded by Tom 

 Squires, who came from Lord Coventry. He had graduated 

 under John Treadwell, with the old Berkshire, and was an 

 honour to his tutor. As long as he lived he gave great satisfac- 

 tion, and showed capital sport ; but relentless fate had not yet 

 left off pursuing the York and Ainsty, for in March, 1873, he 

 was killed through his horse slipping as he took off at a stile, and 

 falling over on him, in a run from Grafton Whin. He was a 

 great loss, as it is well known there was no more promising young 

 huntsman going. The same year the Hon. Egremont Lascelles, 

 who had them for one season, gave up, and Colonel Fairfax took 

 the hounds, hunting them himself, with Trueman Tuffs as 

 kennel huntsman, and thus they have gone on up to the present 

 season. 



The York and Ainsty country holds a capital scent over many 

 portions, and as the country is deep, and the fences of a very 

 fair size, hounds have a good chance. ]!^either is there that 

 pushing, jostling crowd that is to be found on the grass, though 

 the fields here are large enough for sport. In fact, if a man 

 is well horsed and has plenty of nerve, it is a very pleasant 

 country to hunt in, but he must be a good one himself, as well 

 as being on good horses, for the drains or becks take a deal of 

 doing, and there are a good many of them about. These, when 

 very wide, they slide down into, leap across, and up the other 

 side, but it wants a steady hunter and good hands to accomplish 

 this feat nicely. There is one advantage, the banks are 

 generally pretty sound. What is known as the Ainsty part, 

 situated between York and the Bramham Moor country, is, I 

 fancy, the stiflfest, and here are some capital coverts — Askham 

 Bogs generally holding a fox, though they do not breed there, but 

 in some earths on the estate of the Hon. Egremont Lascelles, 

 near Middlethorpe, a short distance away. Stubb Wood is also 

 a very favourite covert on this side of the country, and I have 

 seen a capital run from it as well as from Askham Bogs. Swan's 

 Whin, before mentioned, is also as fine a piece of gorse as I 



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